A good down jacket, if it is exposed to a little rain, watermarks will appear on the fabric; if the fabric is completely dry, the watermarks will still be there. Then wash it, and let it dry after washing, but I didn’t expect the watermark to be removed. Such a scene, I believe many people are not unfamiliar.
Why are there watermarks on down jacket fabrics?
The author analyzes the main reasons for the following three points:
1. The evaporation rate of water after fabric coating and film covering is slow
When washing the down jacket, after the filled duvet is fully moistened, even if it is dehydrated in a washing machine, the moisture content of the dehydrated down is still above 30%. In order for a down jacket to be dry, the moisture in the down must be conducted to the surface of the fabric, and diffused into the air through evaporation.
In order to meet the windproof and down-proof requirements of down jackets, down jacket fabrics are generally made of high-density polyester or nylon, and are coated or coated, resulting in generally low moisture permeability. The down in the down jacket has a high water content and the fabric has a low moisture permeability rate. The combination of these two factors makes it take at least 4-5 days to dry a down jacket in winter. The slower the water evaporates, the longer the water stays on the surface of the fabric, and the more prone to “watermarks” appear on the fabric.
2. The drying speed of the fabric is inconsistent
After the down jacket is washed and dehydrated, the down is lumped together after wetting, and the part of the fabric that is in close contact with the ball-shaped down has high humidity; while the part of the fabric that is not in close contact with the ball-shaped down has low humidity; during the drying process of the down jacket, the windward Part of the fabric evaporates quickly, while the leeward part of the fabric evaporates slowly.
For the same down jacket, the humidity of the fabric may be high or low, and the evaporation rate of water may be fast or slow. Fabrics with low humidity and fast evaporation can dry quickly; while fabrics with high humidity and slow evaporation take a long time to dry. This part of the fabric is naturally prone to “watermarks”.
3. For colors such as army green, dark red, rose red, soot, navy blue, etc., during the fabric research and development stage, down jackets are made for washing and drying tests. If watermarks appear on the down jackets, it is recommended that the supplier adjust the dyeing process to reduce the hydrophilic of the fabric after dyeing A hydrogen bond formed between a radical and a water molecule.
Keep the fabric breathable, dry the down jacket at high temperature, wash and dry the down jacket, and keep the down jacket away from watermarks.
Post time: May-09-2023